This could, in part, be due to a noticeable bump in employer contributions — which are continuing to increase in 2019. "The average 401(k) employee contribution amount, in dollars, reached a record level of $2,370 in Q1, a 15% increase over one year earlier. In addition, the average 401(k) employer contribution, or company match, reached $1,780 in Q1, a record high and a 6% increase from one year earlier," Fidelity stated in a May report.

After any normal voyage the tanker would quickly deliver its 700,000 barrels of Russian crude into a refinery for processing into gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products. Back in April, unusually high levels of the chemicals known as organic chlorides were discovered in Russian crude flowing through the giant Druzhba pipeline, built in the 1960s to carry crude from the U.S.S.R. to allied countries in Eastern Europe. The chlorides can severely damage oil refineries and on April 24 Russia's state pipeline operator, Transneft PJSC, halted shipments.

George Soros, one of the world's best-known investors, has amassed a stake in GAM, sending shares in the embattled Swiss asset manager up more than 20 per cent on Friday. SFM UK Management, a subsidiary of Soros Fund Management, acquired the holding in the middle of May, according to a statement to the Swiss stock exchange.

Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis responded to the American flag controversy at his store in Statesville, North Carolina, telling FOX Business he is in the lawsuit battle for the long haul. The city of Statesville filed a lawsuit against Gander RV and its parent company, Camping World, for violating a city ordinance by flying a 3,200-square-foot American flag. In a statement, the city said the company had previously applied for and received a permit for a compliant 1,000-square-foot flag.

Below, we take a look at the 25 worst stocks to own the week of Memorial Day. Looking at S&P 500 Index stocks over the past 10 years -- and considering only stocks with at least eight years' worth of returns -- a handful of bank names made the list. STI and FITB have ended the week lower 80% of the time, averaging losses of 2.49% and 2.07%, respectively, per data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.

Utility stocks include companies that provide essential services — electricity, energy and water — to communities across the U.S. Because doing this in a country as big as the U.S. is no mean feat, most states have one or two exclusive providers. In return for reining in their operations, the state provides a healthy annual growth target for the utilities and also allows them to operate unregulated businesses that can sell power to customers in the open market. What investors get are rock-solid companies that have no trade war drama attached to them, only growing demand for electricity and reliable dividends to add to their capital gains.

Cypress Semiconductors founder and former CEO T.J. Rodgers told FOX Business he believes the U.S. blacklist of Huawei products will devastate the company. "You got one of the most technically competent companies in the world, Huawei, building one of the most complex electronic machines that has ever been built by man, and we just yanked the critical components out of that machine," he said during an interview on “Cavuto: Coast-to-Coast” Thursday. Rodgers went on to say the blacklist is a "very dire threat" to Huawei, and it will have a negative impact on U.S. semiconductor companies.

The auto maker is burning through $1 billion in cash a quarter, the cash from the latest $2.7 billion funding round will be gone within ten months, and demand is falling off. One of the classic business solutions would be an acquisition. Maybe a white knight with the cash and managerial and operational wherewithal to come in, buy the company, fix the broken parts, and let Tesla become what it had the potential to be.

The Vision To get on board with bulls' contentions on T stock, you have to understand Stephenson's vision for the future of AT&T. The telecom sector is slogging through uncertain times right now, and both AT&T and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) knew something would have to change. However the two took diverging paths, with VZ doubling down on its wireless business and T entering more sectors. Safe Stocks to Buy This Summer Verizon has certainly taken the safer option, but in the long-term will it be better?

That bias can prevent investors from realizing compelling ex-US opportunities with Vanguard funds, such as the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (NASDAQ:BNDX). Among Vanguard funds, BNDX does not grab many headlines, but this year, investors are waking up to this ETF's story. Year-to-date, BNDX has added $3.61 billion in new assets, a total surpassed by just nine other ETFs.

To keep production high, the Administration is giving the oil companies everything they always wanted. It's possible because oil and gas no longer represent cheap energy. The lifetime cost of solar and wind installations, $63.20 per Megawatt-hour, is now below that of coal, and approaching that of natural gas. The solar power expansion that began early this decade in the Far West, spurred by favorable tax laws, has now spread to the heart of the U.S. oilpatch.

MiMedx Group Inc (OTC: MDXG) can't seem to leave controversy behind. Even as the company announced the conclusion of an independent audit committee investigation into some of its business practices, a new report in the Wall Street Journal said the company's injectables are not meeting regulatory standards. MiMedx, which sells injectable wound care products, was testing the finished products quarterly as opposed to checking each lot, WSJ said, citing an internal document prepared for the company in January by Lachman Consultants.

When we talk of companies with an extensive track record of increasing their dividend payments to shareholders, something that tends to drive a step function higher in the share price over time, we tend to think of the Dividend Aristocrats. This is a set of companies that have boosted their quarterly dividends for more than 25 consecutive years. For those investors that focus on dividend income, these are great companies to own, but there is another group of stocks with an even longer track record of dividend hikes investors should consider.

After a red-hot start to 2019, Canadian cannabis producer Aphria Inc (NYSE: APHA) has run out of steam, tumbling more than 31 percent in the past three months. A large disconnect exists between Aphria's impressive market positioning and the stock's valuation, Bennett said in the Friday initiation note.

At age 50, Sue Spence moved away from home for the first time in her life. With 28 years on her resume at United Technologies Corp., Spence said she was not really looking to make a change, but the timing, a recruiter, and a chance to transform FedEx’s sourcing and procurement operations led her to Memphis in 2013. Spence, who holds the title of vice president of sourcing and procurement for FedEx Services, said when she joined the company, she was told to make her group world class, save the company money, and put good processes in place.

The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to promote retirement security by making it easier for small businesses and other companies to offer retirement plans. The bipartisan bill, approved 417-3, also makes it easier for workers to transfer retirement plans when they change jobs and allows part-time workers to save for retirement. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, called the bill the most significant retirement legislation in 15 years.

But while the sector plays might look tempting, one expert recommends being more selective. "Typically, if a company wants to pay a dividend, you need to have a solid balance sheet and strong cash flow, and those are the kinds of companies that do well when times get tough," Mark Tepper, president and CEO of wealth management firm Strategic Wealth Partners, said Thursday on CNBC's "Trading Nation." "So, of all the sectors, we like financials, but I still think you need to pick the winners, not the sector," he said.

Safe Stocks to Buy This Summer With that in mind, here is a list of five of the best penny stocks to buy that I think have more upside potential to ride the market's bullishness. Pier 1 (PIR) PIR stock price: 64 cents Year-to-date gain: 100% Furniture retailer Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) has had a tough time getting its act together for several years. PIR stock has collapsed over the past year.

At first glance, all seems serene on a spring morning at the research-and-development campus of SK Innovation, one of Korea's biggest industrial conglomerates. The campus sits in Daejeon, a tidy, planned city an hour's high-speed-train ride south of Seoul that the national government has built up as a technology hub. Dotting SK's rolling acres are tastefully modern glass-and-steel buildings that wouldn't be out of place in a glossy architecture magazine.

In the months leading up to Washington's decision to ban Huawei from doing business with US suppliers, the Chinese company stockpiled nearly a years worth of components in anticipation of coming headwinds. Now, the global semiconductor sector may have to pay for it. In all, analyst Sebastian Hou says the Chinese company's inventory buildup added 8% to the chip sector's global revenue growth in the 1st quarter, or $35 to $40 billion.

Names That Are Screaming Stocks to Buy The growth in mobile channel usage and digital deposit transactions all point to the bank becoming an online bank giant. And while the growth in loans and leases may slow due to macro issues, Bank of America is building a leaner operation to grow profits. First-Quarter By the Numbers Bank of America's client balances grew 4% while the average deposit size increased 5%.

Billionaire investor George Soros disclosed a 3% stake in GAM Holding AG after the asset manager lost two-thirds of its value over a scandal involving a former star bond trader. Soros, who rose to fame with a successful bet against the Bank of England in 1992, built the holding through a subsidiary of his family office, according to the local exchange. Soros's firm joins bargain hunter Mario Gabelli in taking a stake in the Swiss firm, which is still bleeding assets after suspending star bond manager Tim Haywood last year.